Budget airline easyJet reported a fourth year of record profits today and has pledged a bigger bonus for its shareholders from its surplus cash mountain.

The airline, the biggest operator by passenger numbers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, announced annual results for the year to September 30, showing a 6.3% jump in revenues of £4.527bn and a 21.5% improvement in pre-tax profits of £581m.

It said it flew 64.8m passengers during the year, a 6.6% improvement, leading to a 1.3% rise in its load factor of 90.6%, which show the number of available seats sold.

The carrier managed to save £32m, £18m of which came in the second half of the year, and it opened new bases in Hamburg and Naples, with new operations announced for Amsterdam and Porto.

It said it is the biggest short-haul carrier in the UK now, with a market share of around 20%, following its acquisition of Flybe’s former slots at Gatwick, where its capacity increased by around 15%.

Capacity in the UK grew by 5.8%, aided by the launch of 24 new routes, and easyJet now holds leading positions in nine out of its 11 UK bases, including Liverpool.

At the year end the group had £958m in surplus cash.

This was a decrease of £252m on last year, but reflects the payment of a £133m ordinary dividend, and a special dividend of £175m to shareholders, pre-delivery payments for new aircraft, and the repayment of borrowings.

The group announced today that it is proposing to increase the proportion of its profits after tax paid in dividends to shareholders from one third to 40%, “reflecting our confidence in the future of easyJet”.

Shareholders will get an increase in this year’s dividend of £180m, or 45.4% per share, based on the policy of paying out 40% of annual profit after tax.

Chief executive Carolyn McCall said this morning: “easyJet has continued to execute its strategy, delivering another strong performance and enabling easyJet to deliver record profits for the fourth year in a row.

“We are also proposing to increase the proportion of our profits after tax paid in dividends from one third to 40%, reflecting our confidence in the future of easyJet.

“Our performance demonstrates our continued focus on cost and progress against every strategic revenue priority. Our people are fully aligned behind our strategy and this gives us strong momentum to continue delivering.”

She added: “easyJet has opened up clear blue sky between us and our competitors – both legacy and low cost – with our unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe’s primary airports, with great value fares and friendly service.

“I would like to thank all of our people who have worked so hard to deliver sustainable growth and returns for our shareholders.”

Analyst Gert Zonneveld said: “Full year numbers were slightly ahead of the previously guided range, with profit before tax rising 21.5% to £581m. We retain our Buy recommendation given the excellent long term growth prospects and attractive valuation.”